Vancouver’s full list of 60 restaurants falls well short of Toronto’s 74 picks earlier this year
. No Vancouver restaurants achieved two- or three-star ratings. Bafflingly for a city which prides itself on its seasonal, grower-guided, zero waste credentials, there were no Green Stars awarded, which highlight restaurants at the forefront of sustainability.
One of the West Coast’s most casual destinations, traditionally yoga pant-wearing Vancouver does not do “fancy” well; international chef superstars Daniel Boulud and Jean-Georges Vongerichten both launched — and subsequently shuttered — restaurants here, and European-style fine dining with its squads of waitstaff and sky-high tasting-menu prices simply does not exist.
When Michelin made its proposed guide announcement in July, Gwendal Poullennec, international director of the MichelinGuides stated: “Our inspectors are… eagerly diving into Vancouver’s wide variety of cuisines, prepared with high-quality products and served in warm, casual atmospheres.” The sentiment gave many hope that the city’s lack of starched tablecloths would not deter inspectors. Surprisingly that’s exactly what has happened, with cozy boltholes such as St.
Scanning social media prior to the event usually outspoken industry staff have been uncharacteristically quiet online, except for one lone Tweeter, Michelin’s destination marketing partner,